Thomas Rundle, Housewright
Thomas Rundle, Housewright By
STUDENT, AMERICAN
RICHARD RADIS
AND NEW ENGLAND STUDIES PROGRAM, BOSTON UNIVERSITY
ERY little is known of Thomas Rundle, housewright,* (I 779?I 841) The name Rundle is not common and appears only once (in 1730) in the published vital records of Boston area towns. The name does appear in the “Heads of Families” listing of the 1790 Census, but only in connection with Albany, Columbia, Dutchess and Orange counties in New York State. It does not appear in any other state’s listing.’ An architectural rendering signed “Thomas Rundle Boston,” among the plans for a house in Medford, would appear to be the first document verifying Rundle’s Boston existence.’ He was not born in Boston, but probably came to the city before 1809, seeking the opportunities increasingly available at that time. The rendering just mentioned has an I 804 watermark, which would, at the very least, place him in the area within several years of that date. The next mention of Thomas Rundle is in 1809, when he was about thirty
V .
* A large part of the material used in this paper comesfrom the records (particularly the Joumul) of the Associated Housewrights Society, kept at the Massachusetts Historical Society. The Probate Records and Registries of Deeds of Suffolk and Middlesex Counties were also helpful. T6c Conztitutjon of the Asro&led Housewrigh~s (181 z), the 1800 Rules of Work, and the Constitlltion and book list (I 809) of the Architectural Library are all kept in THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF NEW ENGLAND ANTIQUITIES’
library.
53
years of age, in connection with the sale of land in Cambridge.3 The Middlesex County Registry of Deeds records that Rundle purchased approximately one quarter-acre of land near the Common from William Ireland for five hundred dollars, and refers to him as “Thomas Rundle of Boston, housewright.” Rundle did not build upon this land and, in fact, returned it to Ireland in I 8 16 for one dollar as the result of a “breach of covenant” on the latter’s part. In I 8 I o he married Hannah Dickson of Cambridge, and apparently they lived in her house in Cambridge until 1813. In March of 18 I z he purchased for the sum of one dollar a lot containing seventeen-hundred square feet from Jeremiah Gardner. Gardner was also a housewright, and it is possible that Rundle worked for him before this date and was being paid in land. Several months later Rundle mortgaged this land on Warren Street (now located in Roxbury, off Washington Street) for two hundred dollars, and in 18 13 he is listed for the first time in the Boston City Directory as “Thomas Rundle, housewright, 4 Warren Street.” Between 1813 and I 8 2 I he is mentioned only once in connection with a land transaction; doubtless, he was active, but this would not appear unless he was connected with the sale of land or a mortgage. In 1821 he joined the “Associated Housewrights in Boston,” an organization of master housewrights which provided economic
54
Old-Time New England
assistance to its members in times of need and “promoted improvements in the craft of carpentry.“4 Rundle remained an active member of the Associated Housewrights until its dissolution in 1837.5 Also in 182 I Rundle purchased land in East Cambridge from the Lechmere Point Corporation in an area now bounded by Gore and Sciarappa Streets. In 1825 he mortgaged the holding for six hundred dollars, and then, sometime between 1826 and 1832, he built upon this land. In 1832 he took out another mortgage for one thousand dollars, the transaction listed “a parcel of land with five dwelling houses thereon,” and these five houses, or tenements are mentioned in later sales (up to 1853). It is likely that two houses presently standing within the bounds of Rundle’s land were built by him. The housing built in this area of East Cambridge was largely for workers attracted by newly opened factories, and the two houses just mentioned may have been speculative ventures. The two-story structure on Sciarappa Street is rather nondescript and has been largely made over. The larger building on the corner of Gore and Sciarappa Streets is what Professor Bainbridge Bunting calls, rather wistfully, late Georgian,’ and is completely lacking in decorative detail, with the exception of a faint suggestion of a broken cornice on the gable ends.’ In 1826 Rundle was connected with the building of several houses in Malden. Two Malden farmers took out mortgages with Rundle for land described in the original transaction as open pasture. One farmer failed to pay off his mortgage, but, five years later, when he bought his land back, it was listed as containing several buildings and a dwelling
house. No evidence of these buildings has yet been found. The last land transaction in the Boston area in which Rundle took part before his death was the purchase of a plot of land in Chelsea from the Winnesimmit Company in 1834. He later built, or had built, a wooden shop on this land with money obtained from a mortgage. This shop is no longer standing, as the area has been extensively renovated. Rundle died in Boston on January 5, 1841. From probate records it can be seen that he had not amassed a great fortune in his career as housewright and builder. His debts, consisting of notes due and various bills, came to $3,900. The sale of his land, with the exception of the house and shop at 21 Warren Street, barely covered what he owed. Personal goods in the house totaled $232, and “various sundries” in the workshop such as tools, lumber, and, most interesting, a “drawing board and lot of drawing squares (IO)” came to $392. Rundle had apparently been sick for some time before his death. The doctor bills listed in the probate records are quite large, and for this reason there probably is no mention of money due him for services rendered as a housewright, since he had not been working for several years.’ Such are the sketchy details of Thomas Rundle’s life. The drawing mentioned earlier is the only clue which indicates that Rundle did have some skill, and that he was designing buildings rather than merely constructing them. Where he could have received instruction in drafting is simply conjecture. If he was taught in the Boston area, there were several possible sources, for Charles Bulfinch was practicing in Boston at this time, as was Peter Banner. A more probable
DRAWING
FOR HOUSE
IN MEDFORD
BY THOMAS
Old-Time New England
56
indicate Rundle was not completely proficient in drafting at that time was the round-arched windows on the belvedere. These were drawn rather crudely in perspective, though drawing curves in perspectiveis difficult without some practice or a template. Otherwise, the elevation is well drawn. There is an attached one-story wing to the side of the house, To young carpenters, joiners and all others aLl windows are shuttered (this destroys concerned in the art of building: The Subscriber intends to open a school of-Architecture the effect of an unbroken wall surface), . . . at which will be taught the Five Orders of and Rundle added detailing such as a Architecture, the Proportions of Doors, Winbalustrade around the belvedere, metal dows and Chimney pieces . . . Plans, Elevagrillwork on the portico and latticework. tions and Sections of Houses, with all their Exterior detailing is sparse, and the Ornaments, The art of drawing Plans and Elevations, or any other figure perspectively overall simplicity of the design is characwill also be taught if required by Asher Benteristic of a Federal-style house of the jamin.g period. No indication is made whether It is diverting to think that such a school construction was to be of birch, masonry was being conducted by Benjamin in or wood. Boston, and the drawing tends to give The connection between Rundle, the some support to this. Perhaps a descrip- suggested “school of architecture” in tion of it is in order at this point. Boston, and the AssociatedHousewrights The rendering (see illustration) is a is quite tenuous at present and bears large front elevation, signed by Rundle. further study. Perhaps, as more informaThere is also a notation on the sheet sug- tion comes to light, the life and congesting that Rundle was either a student tributions of Thomas Rundle to early of Benjamin’s or working in cooperation American architecture will be made with him. One minor point that would clear.
teacher is Asher Benjamin. Perhaps Benjamin was operating a school in Boston similar to the one he proposed in Windsor, Vermont, in 1802. This elusive schoolin Boston has been mentioned, though never documented. The following is Benjamin’s advertisement in the Windsor Gazette, January 5, 1802:
NOTES r Rundle was a member of the Hollis Street Church, Unitarian, in Boston. The records of this now-defunct church, not available at this time, might indicate his origins. * Folio kept in THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF NEW ENGLAND ANTIQUITIES’ library. 3 Suffolk County Registry of Deeds.
and
Middlesex
County
4 Constitution of the Associated Housewrights Society in t/se Town of Boston (Boston, 1812). 5 Journal of the Associated Housewrights (I 804-183 7). At Massachusetts Historical Society.
6 Cambridge Historical Commission. Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge: East Cambridge (Cambridge, 1965), pp. 72-73. 7 Rundle’s lot was 62 x roe feet, and extended IOO feet north on Sciarappa Street from the corner of Gore and Sciarappa Streets, and 62 feet west on Gore from this same corner. The house numbers are 25 Sciarappa Street and numbers 83-85 Gore Street. The latter house is a gray, three-story, two-family dwelling. s Suffolk County Probate Records. 9 “Our First Architectural School.” American Institute of Architects Journal, XII (March, 1950), pp. 139-140.
STUDENT, AMERICAN
RICHARD RADIS
AND NEW ENGLAND STUDIES PROGRAM, BOSTON UNIVERSITY
ERY little is known of Thomas Rundle, housewright,* (I 779?I 841) The name Rundle is not common and appears only once (in 1730) in the published vital records of Boston area towns. The name does appear in the “Heads of Families” listing of the 1790 Census, but only in connection with Albany, Columbia, Dutchess and Orange counties in New York State. It does not appear in any other state’s listing.’ An architectural rendering signed “Thomas Rundle Boston,” among the plans for a house in Medford, would appear to be the first document verifying Rundle’s Boston existence.’ He was not born in Boston, but probably came to the city before 1809, seeking the opportunities increasingly available at that time. The rendering just mentioned has an I 804 watermark, which would, at the very least, place him in the area within several years of that date. The next mention of Thomas Rundle is in 1809, when he was about thirty
V .
* A large part of the material used in this paper comesfrom the records (particularly the Joumul) of the Associated Housewrights Society, kept at the Massachusetts Historical Society. The Probate Records and Registries of Deeds of Suffolk and Middlesex Counties were also helpful. T6c Conztitutjon of the Asro&led Housewrigh~s (181 z), the 1800 Rules of Work, and the Constitlltion and book list (I 809) of the Architectural Library are all kept in THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF NEW ENGLAND ANTIQUITIES’
library.
53
years of age, in connection with the sale of land in Cambridge.3 The Middlesex County Registry of Deeds records that Rundle purchased approximately one quarter-acre of land near the Common from William Ireland for five hundred dollars, and refers to him as “Thomas Rundle of Boston, housewright.” Rundle did not build upon this land and, in fact, returned it to Ireland in I 8 16 for one dollar as the result of a “breach of covenant” on the latter’s part. In I 8 I o he married Hannah Dickson of Cambridge, and apparently they lived in her house in Cambridge until 1813. In March of 18 I z he purchased for the sum of one dollar a lot containing seventeen-hundred square feet from Jeremiah Gardner. Gardner was also a housewright, and it is possible that Rundle worked for him before this date and was being paid in land. Several months later Rundle mortgaged this land on Warren Street (now located in Roxbury, off Washington Street) for two hundred dollars, and in 18 13 he is listed for the first time in the Boston City Directory as “Thomas Rundle, housewright, 4 Warren Street.” Between 1813 and I 8 2 I he is mentioned only once in connection with a land transaction; doubtless, he was active, but this would not appear unless he was connected with the sale of land or a mortgage. In 1821 he joined the “Associated Housewrights in Boston,” an organization of master housewrights which provided economic
54
Old-Time New England
assistance to its members in times of need and “promoted improvements in the craft of carpentry.“4 Rundle remained an active member of the Associated Housewrights until its dissolution in 1837.5 Also in 182 I Rundle purchased land in East Cambridge from the Lechmere Point Corporation in an area now bounded by Gore and Sciarappa Streets. In 1825 he mortgaged the holding for six hundred dollars, and then, sometime between 1826 and 1832, he built upon this land. In 1832 he took out another mortgage for one thousand dollars, the transaction listed “a parcel of land with five dwelling houses thereon,” and these five houses, or tenements are mentioned in later sales (up to 1853). It is likely that two houses presently standing within the bounds of Rundle’s land were built by him. The housing built in this area of East Cambridge was largely for workers attracted by newly opened factories, and the two houses just mentioned may have been speculative ventures. The two-story structure on Sciarappa Street is rather nondescript and has been largely made over. The larger building on the corner of Gore and Sciarappa Streets is what Professor Bainbridge Bunting calls, rather wistfully, late Georgian,’ and is completely lacking in decorative detail, with the exception of a faint suggestion of a broken cornice on the gable ends.’ In 1826 Rundle was connected with the building of several houses in Malden. Two Malden farmers took out mortgages with Rundle for land described in the original transaction as open pasture. One farmer failed to pay off his mortgage, but, five years later, when he bought his land back, it was listed as containing several buildings and a dwelling
house. No evidence of these buildings has yet been found. The last land transaction in the Boston area in which Rundle took part before his death was the purchase of a plot of land in Chelsea from the Winnesimmit Company in 1834. He later built, or had built, a wooden shop on this land with money obtained from a mortgage. This shop is no longer standing, as the area has been extensively renovated. Rundle died in Boston on January 5, 1841. From probate records it can be seen that he had not amassed a great fortune in his career as housewright and builder. His debts, consisting of notes due and various bills, came to $3,900. The sale of his land, with the exception of the house and shop at 21 Warren Street, barely covered what he owed. Personal goods in the house totaled $232, and “various sundries” in the workshop such as tools, lumber, and, most interesting, a “drawing board and lot of drawing squares (IO)” came to $392. Rundle had apparently been sick for some time before his death. The doctor bills listed in the probate records are quite large, and for this reason there probably is no mention of money due him for services rendered as a housewright, since he had not been working for several years.’ Such are the sketchy details of Thomas Rundle’s life. The drawing mentioned earlier is the only clue which indicates that Rundle did have some skill, and that he was designing buildings rather than merely constructing them. Where he could have received instruction in drafting is simply conjecture. If he was taught in the Boston area, there were several possible sources, for Charles Bulfinch was practicing in Boston at this time, as was Peter Banner. A more probable
DRAWING
FOR HOUSE
IN MEDFORD
BY THOMAS
Old-Time New England
56
indicate Rundle was not completely proficient in drafting at that time was the round-arched windows on the belvedere. These were drawn rather crudely in perspective, though drawing curves in perspectiveis difficult without some practice or a template. Otherwise, the elevation is well drawn. There is an attached one-story wing to the side of the house, To young carpenters, joiners and all others aLl windows are shuttered (this destroys concerned in the art of building: The Subscriber intends to open a school of-Architecture the effect of an unbroken wall surface), . . . at which will be taught the Five Orders of and Rundle added detailing such as a Architecture, the Proportions of Doors, Winbalustrade around the belvedere, metal dows and Chimney pieces . . . Plans, Elevagrillwork on the portico and latticework. tions and Sections of Houses, with all their Exterior detailing is sparse, and the Ornaments, The art of drawing Plans and Elevations, or any other figure perspectively overall simplicity of the design is characwill also be taught if required by Asher Benteristic of a Federal-style house of the jamin.g period. No indication is made whether It is diverting to think that such a school construction was to be of birch, masonry was being conducted by Benjamin in or wood. Boston, and the drawing tends to give The connection between Rundle, the some support to this. Perhaps a descrip- suggested “school of architecture” in tion of it is in order at this point. Boston, and the AssociatedHousewrights The rendering (see illustration) is a is quite tenuous at present and bears large front elevation, signed by Rundle. further study. Perhaps, as more informaThere is also a notation on the sheet sug- tion comes to light, the life and congesting that Rundle was either a student tributions of Thomas Rundle to early of Benjamin’s or working in cooperation American architecture will be made with him. One minor point that would clear.
teacher is Asher Benjamin. Perhaps Benjamin was operating a school in Boston similar to the one he proposed in Windsor, Vermont, in 1802. This elusive schoolin Boston has been mentioned, though never documented. The following is Benjamin’s advertisement in the Windsor Gazette, January 5, 1802:
NOTES r Rundle was a member of the Hollis Street Church, Unitarian, in Boston. The records of this now-defunct church, not available at this time, might indicate his origins. * Folio kept in THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF NEW ENGLAND ANTIQUITIES’ library. 3 Suffolk County Registry of Deeds.
and
Middlesex
County
4 Constitution of the Associated Housewrights Society in t/se Town of Boston (Boston, 1812). 5 Journal of the Associated Housewrights (I 804-183 7). At Massachusetts Historical Society.
6 Cambridge Historical Commission. Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge: East Cambridge (Cambridge, 1965), pp. 72-73. 7 Rundle’s lot was 62 x roe feet, and extended IOO feet north on Sciarappa Street from the corner of Gore and Sciarappa Streets, and 62 feet west on Gore from this same corner. The house numbers are 25 Sciarappa Street and numbers 83-85 Gore Street. The latter house is a gray, three-story, two-family dwelling. s Suffolk County Probate Records. 9 “Our First Architectural School.” American Institute of Architects Journal, XII (March, 1950), pp. 139-140.
